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STTA chief has no regrets over ‘painful’ Feng Tianwei axing

SINGAPORE — The Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) may have been left battered and bruised by the public outrage it triggered in October when it announced that it was axing Feng Tianwei from the national team. But, in an interview with TODAY, STTA president Ellen Lee declared that the STTA does not regret making the “painful decision” to part ways with its most successful paddler and three-time Olympic medallist, a move that came a day after it sacked men’s player Li Hu for misconduct.

Giving table tennis star Feng Tianwei a graceful exit was the priority, says STTA president Ellen Lee. Photo: Getty Images

Giving table tennis star Feng Tianwei a graceful exit was the priority, says STTA president Ellen Lee. Photo: Getty Images

SINGAPORE — The Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) may have been left battered and bruised by the public outrage it triggered in October when it announced that it was axing Feng Tianwei from the national team. But, in an interview with TODAY, STTA president Ellen Lee declared that the STTA does not regret making the “painful decision” to part ways with its most successful paddler and three-time Olympic medallist, a move that came a day after it sacked men’s player Li Hu for misconduct.

She said: “It has not been an easy period because we made a decision that had a lot of repercussions ... we needed a lot of courage to get it going and to brave the aftermath of that decision.”

The lawyer added that she had been prepared for the public backlash from their unpopular decision.

“A lot of people wanted answers, explanations, but we felt that it would be best left that way for the good of everybody,” she said. “We explored all options ... it is a painful decision but it would be a better outcome then to be engaged in prolonged negotiations, prolonged agony with nobody wanting to move forward.”

Lee also said that the STTA’s public reason for dropping Feng — that she did not fit with the STTA’s plans to rejuvenate the national team and focus more on developing young local talent — was the right thing to do.

This despite reports subsequently emerging that the paddler was given her marching orders after disagreements over prize money, disrespect of authority and a dispute over reimbursement claims for food.

Giving Feng a graceful exit was the STTA’s main priority, said Lee, a former Member of Parliament.

“There are certain things that we think that, if revealed, may lessen our stress and backlash, but we don’t want to take that route,” she told TODAY.

“She is somebody who’s known internationally and when such a thing happens, everybody will be shocked. We wanted to preserve her dignity for her and, therefore, we stopped short of what many people have urged us to do, which is go for full disclosure. We wanted to concentrate on our plans to move forward.

“I still stick to my decision, that I gave her a graceful exit.”

While the STTA has said that it will continue to support Feng’s participation on the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour and consider the 30-year-old for selection for major games, the paddler may not be able to compete in the team events.

“That would be very tricky because she’s not training with our people and synergy is very important in team events, so that is something we have to think through,” added Lee.

Even as both parties try to work out the intricacies of their new relationship, the STTA is planning to move on.

More emphasis will be placed on youth development, and six local-born players will be promoted to the intermediate squad, it said. Some of the STTA’s funding will also be reallocated to youth development to groom local players for the 2020 and 2024 Olympics.

However, Lee stressed that the focus on development of local-born players does not mean abandoning the foreign sports talent (FST) scheme, which has reaped the likes of Feng, Li Jiawei and Wang Yuegu, both of whom are now retired, and delivered three Olympic medals as well as a world team crown.

“It may be a short break (from foreign talent), we’re not saying we will wean off,” she said.

“It does have its advantages, not just in table tennis, but other sports also need this scheme to bring in a higher level of play and show our locals the difference in quality and level of play.”

The STTA’s younger generation of foreign-born players — Zhou Yihan, Lin Ye and Zeng Jian — will continue to fly the flag for Singapore at tournaments and major games, while the association looks to local paddlers such as Commonwealth and SEA Games champions Clarence Chew and Pang Xuejie to take the next step and qualify for the Olympic Games.

Convincing athletes and their parents to adopt a more serious approach to the sport will be a challenge, but Lee, who was re-elected for a second two-year term in July, is optimistic.

“I think there are some Singaporeans who are willing to do that (train full-time). Times have changed, we no longer live in those days where you have to worry about where your next rice bowl is coming from,” she said.

“This whole exercise is to give our youngsters more opportunities and I’m opening the door very wide for them to come in and take advantage of whatever that we have to offer them. So it really would be up to them to seize the opportunity ... we’re prepared to guide them, push them, cajole them to excel.”

Banking on its younger and local-born talents to deliver medals at the Olympics could be risky, but Lee is prepared to dig in and wait, even if success takes decades.

“Realistically, in Singapore, because of the focus on academic excellence, for guys with National Service, exams in between, we may take a longer time than 20 years (to groom a good athlete) but it is time worth investing,” she said.

“This is our commitment, and it is our hope that in investing so much time and effort, somebody good must really come along. I’m sure Singaporeans don’t mind waiting to see one of our own standing on the stage.

“Just as nobody expected (swimmer) Joseph Schooling to win a gold medal for Singapore, we could have a Schooling in table tennis as well.”

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